


The Bone Initiative (And All the Healing We Have Done)

by slaughter_doll



Series: The Inked Ones [2]
Category: Marvel
Genre: Abusive Parents, Flashbacks, Hurt/Comfort, Other, tw
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-10
Updated: 2015-12-09
Packaged: 2018-04-13 21:41:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,023
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4538409
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/slaughter_doll/pseuds/slaughter_doll
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>I don't remember how I got here. I only remember that my twin brother and I, well, we met our mother. Everything after that is a bit fuzzy, and now I'm in a white padded room, wearing a straight jacket, with my head shaved, and my brother missing.</p><p>Where am I?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

I don't remember how I got here. I only remember that my twin brother and I, well, we met our mother. Everything after that is a bit fuzzy, and now I'm in a white padded room, wearing a straitjacket, with my head shaved, and my brother missing. Or, I haven’t seen him at least, for however long I’ve been here.

I’m sure you remember me, or at least I hope you do, because you’re the only person I have left. But then again, maybe you’re not real. Just another voice in my head. Maybe you’re just another figment of my imagination. That wouldn't surprise me.

I don't know. My thoughts are scattered, like puzzle pieces poured out of the box, waiting to be sorted and put together.

_Where am I?_


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've neen sick, and really busy seeing doctors and stuff. Sorry for the long wait. The official first chapter. 
> 
> Vanna's (Bruja/Diablo's mother's) tattoo: https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/64/72/09/647209f54e3d6ce71bb030d601f00c02.jpg
> 
> This is how I see Bruja (but obviously not white, and with longer hair, and blue eyes. Aso imagine that instead of eyeshadow, she just has really bad bags under her eyes, b/c Bru will definitely have them for the rest of the story): http://s4.favim.com/orig/140501/alternative-alternative-fashion-big-eyes-black-Favim.com-1720376.jpg

I squirmed in the full body straitjacket, as far as I could tell, I was naked underneath it. Earlier, when someone in a metal mask –that looked somewhat like Dr. Doom’s- took me to the showers, I searched for the blades under my skin (from the Gala a few months, or days, or hell, hours, I don’t know, ago), they were gone – also, the asshole knocked me out and dragged me back to my cell afterwards. Whoever I’m dealing with here, they’re good. Really good. Definitely professionals, perhaps HYDRA, or some sort of reboot of La Iniciativa de Hueso, but I don’t really see the ladder of the two happening anytime soon.

A door opened, effectively tearing me away from my thoughts, and I scooted back towards the wall behind it, in a pathetic attempt to hide. A woman walked in, the woman who was _supposed_ to be my mother. She had long black hair, like mine once was, before it was –rudely- cut away. A simple black body suit was all she wore, which strongly reminded me of Natasha, and thus causing a pang in my heart as I immediately thought of Bruce. I hoped he would look for me, for half a second. But something caught my eye that I somehow missed before – though I have no idea how. She had a tattoo that covered the bottom half of the right side of her face, and spread out along her neck and collar bone. It was hyper realistic, and looked like someone had torn the skin away, all the way down to her muscles. Whoever did the work, was awesome at their job (I doubt it was the guy who did all of mine, for he was actually _at_ the Initiative, whereas she wasn’t). All in all, she was rather beautiful, and looked somuch like me it hurt to realize that she fucking _kidnapped_ me and stuck me in a padded cell, as if I were in some poorly made Hollywood adaption of mental illness. However, when she looked at me, I saw a flash of pain and regret, before it quickly changed to disgust. Did I really look that bad?

But guess who walked in behind her? I’ll bet you that you got it wrong.

It was fucking Victor Von Doom himself. “Come. Doctor Doom requires your assistance.” His voice was somewhat muffled behind the iron mask, but I stood and gently bowed in agreement. Regardless of how little I trust him, regardless of how my last mission with him went, I needed to cooperate. It was the only way I could hope for, at the very least, an explanation. Once I stepped out of the room, he motioned towards a door at my left, and when a guard opened it, it had my chest from Wade’s apartment. God, these guys are good –and I need to stop complimenting them-, but wait, what if they had hurt Peter or Ben? Oh god, what if they killed Wade to get to my stuff? No, he’s fine. Peter’s spideysense would have warned them, right? Right?

_How I wish Kegan was here to calm me down._

A guard unlatched the straps on my straitjacket –still not over that bullshit-, before he gave me a stern look and closed the door. Quickly, I slid on a pair of skinny jeans and a tee shirt, and lastly looked to the left wall. As if the look on my ‘mother’s’ face wasn’t enough to tell me how shitty I looked, the mirror hanging on the wall was. My eyes were a deep purple and sunken in, I had lost a lot of weight from the little amounts of food I was eating (my guess was once a day, and I’d had about 34 “meals.” Which, by the way, consisted of four crackers, a canteen of water, and two and a half bites of meat, but you know I don’t eat anything I can turn into.), you could see my hipbones, collar bones, and all of my rib cage. No wonder I felt so weak, I was practically starving. I sighed and touched my head, looking at the black stubble, which strongly contrasted the red ink on my face, and behind my ear. Gently, my fingers traced Thiago’s mark, before letting my palm run over the stubble. “Scratchy.”

“Doctor Doom orders you to come here at once.”

“Yes sir.” After I grabbed a black beanie and put it on, I walked out and stood straight, my hands behind my back, and once again bowed. “My apologies for taking so long.”

He looked at me sideways, before leading me through a series of hallways. Eventually, we came to a medical bay and I looked around. There were maybe 100 children, strapped down to beds, with IV’s, some with things to help them breathe, others were completely covered in bandages, and a few were dead. "Sir?”

“Heal them.”

“I’m sorry?”

“Doctor Doom requires you to _heal_ them.” We continued to stare at one another. “They are children of Latveria and they are dying.”

 _Ah, so that’s where we are._ Though it made sense, one part of me wanted to scream _‘Are you fucking kidding me, LAVERIA???’_ I kept a straight face and looked at him. “Doctor Doom, as I’m sure you remember from our last encounter, I cannot heal those who have contracted terminal illnesses.” I turned and began to walk away. “I’m sorry, but you’ll need to find another healer.”

“That is why you were brought here, Alexa.” Vanna stopped me by placing a hand on my chest. I quickly recoiled and grimaced at her hand. A sad look crossed her face, but was immediately replaced with detachment. “We need your help.”

“And since when do people kidnap the ones who help them?” I turned around and spat towards Victor Von Doom, shot my mother a glare, and ran off. They still had me on whatever drug they initially gave me when they ‘napped me, which prevented me from shifting, but that was okay. I was weak, but I was still small, and I could still run. I had no idea where I was going, and in all honesty, I was probably going deeper into whatever maze I was in. My movements were random, a left here, a right here, another right… It didn’t matter, I just had to keep moving. I could still run.

However, I could still trip too. My boot caught on something on the ground, and I ate shit. The rough stone floor scraped me up pretty badly –is that bone poking through?-, and my head hit the wall on the way down. So when I tried to get up, my body pretty much told me to fuck off. That is, before thee guards came around the corner and saw me. In reaction to seeing them, I leaned my head back and groaned. “ _Come oooon_.”

“Dumb ass.” A guard grabbed me, and dragged me into another room. I was quickly tied down to a chair, and eventually people began to walk in. First, there was MODOK, Doc Doom, Dracula, my mother and a few other agents, and finally, fucking Red Skull. I was right, this is HYDRA’s work.

I grinned sarcastically. “I see the Cabal is back in cahoots. Pleasant.” They all took seats around me, and I kept still, looking down at the folder in front of me. What do they want now? “Shall I assume my debriefing is to begin now?”

The Red face in front of me smiled, his blue eyes shining with a certain level of entertainment. “Yes.”

 


	3. Bruce's POV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *lays down on the floor*  
> ugh  
> *rolls onto my stomach*  
> ugh I have no idea what I'm doing with my life

I paced the meeting room with one hand supporting my elbow, and the other covering my mouth. It was a nervous habit, yes, but I need a few of those here and there.

“It looks like they were taken against their will.” Natasha walked in, a strong look of focus playing on her features, and began playing something on the screen in front of us. It was Bruja, leaving my room. She stood for a second, probably listening to me get up, and she looked happy for a few seconds. Until a huge… _thing_ came up from behind her, covered her mouth, and injected a needle into her arm. Anger flooded through me as she went from struggling to limp in a matter of seconds. My instincts kicked in –the ones that keep the other guy at bay- and I quickly turned away from the scene. Deep, furious breaths took hold of my lungs, as I felt someone’s hand on my back. It was Wade’s. I guess no one else had the courage.

“She’s okay, dude.” He sounded like he was trying to convince himself, and not me. “That wasn’t a knockout drug, it would have taken a lot more than that to even make her drowsy. She’s like me that way.” He scoffed a laugh. “It was prolly to keep her from changing into something else. She’s smart. She knows struggling with no powers wouldn’t save her, and hulking you up wouldn’t do much either.” I nodded at his words. Words I barely even heard through my anger.

You know, part of me missed being on other side of the world, where it was more stressful to tell someone that they didn’t have to pay for my help. Which, by the way, was a _low_ stress situation. But another part of me, probably the other guy’s domain, didn’t regret coming back at all. Even through all of it, I cared about Alexa, I really, really did (and still do). And I want to _kill_ all of the people who took her.

I need to control my thoughts. This could get out of hand real quick.

“Do we have an approximate on her location?” Fury walked over from where he was standing in the corner to study the tablet Natasha had, and I heard Barton shift his weight somewhere in the roofing. I’m surprised he’s up there, can he read lips from that far?

“I’m afraid not, sir.” An agent, I don’t know their name, stood at the main computer, typing away. “We can’t even get the country, let alone the area. She’s somewhere in between the Czech Republic and Romania.”

“Well _figure it out_.” Fury used the voice he gets when he is easily irritated. “We have a lot of ene-”

“Can we still see her vitals? From the implant?” I turned and looked at the agent. When he nodded, I snatched the computer and began going over her health stats from the past month. Wade and Peter watched me carefully. I could only guess what their thoughts were. “Her heartrate spiked today.”

“What does that mean?” Wilson stepped forward, a look of worry distressing his mask and exposed mouth (so Barton could read his lips). “It looks like she was running.” My finger traced the accelerated bpm’s. “And here,” I pointed to a specific spot. “She fell and got injured. The implant says the scraped her knees-to the bone- and hit her head.” After that, it was calm. “And then, she calmed down. Something happened there, I don’t know what, but something.”

“Can we still transmit voice? That was a feature, wasn’t it?” Peter grabbed Wade’s hand. “That’s how we found out about Thiago.”

“We have some, yes. But it doesn’t help.”

“Play it.” The look on Deadpool’s face was terrifying, and his voice was even more so. He was probably ten times as worried as me. “ _Now._ ”

There were two. The first went as such;

 **Alexa (C/N Bruja):** "Я вирву твоє горло, і купатися в крові, якщо ви не повідомите мене."

*Three minutes of static*

 **Alexa (C/N Bruja):** “—that was a mutant. He teleported us.”

Alexander (C/N: Diablo): “Smells like-”

 _Unknown:_ “Alexander---lex--?”   
*Heavily influenced by static*

 **Alexa (C/N Bruja):** “Mom?”

 

“Mom?” The word crawled it’s way out of Peter’s throat the way –forgive the pun- a spider would. Slow, cautious, _poisonous_. He was just as angry as everyone else. “Does she mean?”

“ _Vanna_.” Wade clenched his fists. “Vanna Castellanos. Alexa and Alexander’s birth mother.”

“How do you know that, Wilson?” Cap piped in for the first time in a while.

“I found their birth certificates in Bruja’s stuff.” He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Which, _by th’fucking way_ , is missing from my apartment.”

“Banner, go back to the beginning of the tape.” I looked up at Fury and did as I was told.

" _Я вирву твоє горло, і купатися в крові, якщо ви не повідомите мене._ " Bruja’s voice sounded weird. I’d never heard her speak in another language, aside from Spanish.

“She’s interrogating someone. Telling them she’ll rip out their throats and,” Natasha coughed awkwardly, but with a grin. “Bathe in their blood if they don’t tell her.” Everyone turned and looked at her, but she simply shrugged it off. “What? It’s Ukranian.”

“Tell her what though?”

“Probably where they are, or who hired them.” She shrugged again. “What’s the second tape?”

The agent looked up. “It’s short, but clear. It was shortly after the fall that Dr. Banner pointed out.”

And then he played it, and I thought Wade was going to have a heart attack.

 **Alexa (C/N Bruja):** “Shall I assume my debriefing is to begin now?”

 _Unknown:_ “Yes.”

“I want you to run that through whatever voice detection, profile, _thing,_ you have Fury.” Deadpool looked at the director, just as Tony was going to suggest that Bruja is actually on a job, but Wade shot them both a look of death. “She is _not_ working with whoever that is. I know her, I know myself, and we’re a lot alike alright?” He took a few furious breaths. “Look, I want to find my fucking daughter and get her home. She’s been gone a month, and that is much too long.” His voice became a low, terrifying growl, and when he was done, he turned, opened the door, said “ _Find her, Fury,”_ and slammed it so hard, I think the glass cracked a little.


	4. Chapter 4

“And with your help, we could potentially cure the children, lock down this virus, and use it however we need to.” MODOK had been drabbling on for the past few hours, something about a terminal cancer-like virus that spread like a flu. I don’t know, and I certainly don’t care.

“It’s cute that you think I don’t know what you’re doing, Johann.” I looked at Red Skull, who tilted his head and motioned for me to go on. “You’re trying to ‘prove’ to me that you only have the best intentions in mind, so I will blindly follow you into whatever bullshit take-over-the-world scheme you have planned next.” I leaned back in my chair, and looked up, lazily meeting his eyes.

He smiled. “You are as smart as your mother says.”

“She isn’t my mother.” A scowled at the thought. “And you… _You killed my husband_.”

“And we are very sorry about that. Back then, you were potential threats, surely you understand.” Both of our eyes licked over to Vanna, which only made me frown. He sighed and walked towards me. “If you do not want to help us, I understand. But we would like to hire you and your brother’s expertise. You two are the best The Bone Initiative had to offer.”

“My brother? He’s okay?” My wrists caught on their binds as I leant forward with hope filling my chest.

“Yes.” As he began to tell me how my brother had been kept in the room next to me, I finally felt the Power Neutralizing shot wear off. With an internal _thank god,_ I essentially made razorblades grow out of the sides of my wrists and moved them (which took minimal effort) so they could begin cutting through. I don’t think they suspected anything, or at least, I hoped they didn’t.

“Let me see him.”

MODOK clucked his tongue and wagged mechanical his finger at me. “You must agree to our terms first.”

“Or what?” I laughed, and looked at all of the faces in front of me. “You’ll kill us? Big deal, we’ll come back.”

Doctor Doom laughed –or what I _assume_ is laughing for him-, before lifting a hand up and motioning for someone to come in. “Bring him in.” The metal door behind him slid open, and in walked a man with long, scraggly, dark hair and a metal arm.

“Bucky?” I scoffed. “Why would I give a _fuck_ about him? He’s the one who ended Thiago’s life.”

“The first time, yes. But who killed him the second, and as I remember it, last time?” He took a step forward and whispered in my ear. “Whose apartment did my mutants take you from? The monster’s, yes? The one who ‘ended his life’? Wouldn’t it be a shame if he were to suddenly… contract an illness?”

“You lie.” Tears welled up in my eyes, and I turned to look at Bucky, who would, most likely, be the one to take out Bruce. His eyes were dead, his brain empty. “Barnes, wake up.” The bonds on my chair finally broke, and I shoved past Johann –who tried to grab my arm, but failed desperately. In the background, MODOK was obsessing over his binds that, quite honestly, broke way too easily- to walk towards my grandpop’s best friend. He looked dead into my eyes and I searched for any signs of life, but all I saw were hints of green, which weren’t supposed to be there. And in those hints of green, I saw all of the love I have, for those not yet gone, and those long since dead. “Come on Bucky, wake the fuck up, please, I need your help here.”

“Who’s Bucky?” He spoke quietly, slowly… Lazily. As if he had just woken up from sleeping after a bout of insomnia.

“ _You_ , dumbass!” My eyes narrowed, and I looked deeper, trying to understand what they did to him. He was doing so well! And I may hate him, but I don’t hate Cap, so I’m going to do my best to save him, for my grandpop. “You don’t remember me? You helped me take down The Bone Initiative in Mexico, remember?”

He looked up to Red Skull with a confused look on his face. “Sir?”

“Never you mind, Soldier.” I shuddered (well, more of a cringe) when his footsteps took him closer, and eventually, right behind me. “She is very confused right now, you look very similar to someone she used to know. Go to debriefing.”

“Yes, sir.” And with that, Barnes turned and left.

Once he was gone, I turned around and stared at the HYDRA leader. “You have his head so far up his own ass, I’m pretty sure he’s looking at his own heart. How? Maddox was never able to _erase memory_.”

“Doctor Maddox was an imbecile, for all of his brilliance.” I looked at Red Skull for a second, before turning to MODOK, who had spoken. I’ll bet you everything I own that he didn’t think I would notice the way their eyes lingered on my stomach when we met. The way they checked to make sure it was still there every few minutes. And now, calling Maddox brilliant, when he sure as hell wasn’t?

I placed a hand over my stomach and stepped back. “You want the child.”

“Of course we want the child.” Skull’s paces forward matched mine perfectly, so we were still chest to nose. “It was bred to take over the world. The best assassin on this side of the world, and the second worst monster in _all_ of the world, beautifully combined. Such a blood thirst in both of the DNA strands, such an ache for the death of those around them, and yet… Seamless obedience! They will be perfect for us.” He took a breath, turned away from me, and continued. “And, we could bring back your voice. Kegan, I believe her name was?” HE looked over his shoulder to see my reaction.

“First, I blew up that fucking building, and I _killed that son unva bitch_ Maddox. What makes you think I won’t do the same exact thing here? I’m not like the Avengers. I _will_ kill each of you, without a second thought.” My eyes flicked over to my mother, who looked like she had been stabbed. My heart skipped a beat, and I took a shuddering breath before straightening my posture again. “Secondly, you _can’t_ bring her back.”

“How do you know?” Again, MODOK’s voice came from behind me.

“When an Ink gives birth, their other half gets transferred to the kid.” My hands balled up and tears welled in my eyes. “Kegan is dead. Some kind of flaw in out DNA. Plain and simple.”

“Yes,” Johann looked at me over his shoulder. “But we can bring her back, without harming the child.”

“Bull. _Shit_.” I laughed a bitter and hysterical giggle. All of their faces were stern, and my laughter died down. “I’ll consider it. But only, and _only,_ if I get to see my brother, train daily, get actual meals, and continue seeing Barnes.” The Cabal exchanged looks, before Red Skull sighed and agreed. “Oh, and one more thing, what the hell does Dracula have to do in all of this?”

“Oh dear child, I play a large role in this.” He stood and hovered over to me. “HYDRA only has so many soldiers. But I, oh I, have an army of the undead.”

I scrunched up my nose –it’s a habit, when I think. It happens-, until the realization hit me like a train. I gaped at the group of men (?) in front of me. “ _You want to start World War 3_.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two pages on word docs, not too bad for an update. 
> 
> Translations:  
> Nino - Kid  
> Por que? - Why?

I paced around my room, impatient to see my brother. They had promised to set him free, or at least, from the solitary confinement cells. Red Skull had arranged for us to be placed in moderately better rooms; I say moderately only because we were used to worse. The walls were a tarnished grey, concrete perhaps. We had bunks sticking out from the wall with chains holding them in place, and two inch foam mattresses that they were at least kind enough to provide. Maddox wouldn’t have done such a favor –nor did he. One light hung from the wall and it flickered. A lot. If I wasn’t so weak, so malnourished, I would destroy it for being so damned annoying. But now, I couldn’t do anything but wait.

With a huff of frustration, I looked down at my stomach. If I remembered correctly, the baby should be about the size of a strawberry. I was just barely beginning to show, and by that, I mean it looked like I hadn’t worked out in a long time. My stomach went from toned and flat to slightly bloated. You could still see my hipbones and all my muscles, but still. I was gaining weight and pretty soon, I wouldn’t be able to train at all. I gently rubbed the bump and sat down on the bunk. “You’re killin’ me, niño.”

By the time someone came to my door, it wasn’t Diablo. It was a guard. “Let’s go.”

“Where are we going?” I crossed my arms and stood.

“Just come with me.” The guard sighed, then whispered. “I’m not okay with using force on an expecting mother.”

I raised my eyebrow and laughed. “What the hell is someone like you doing in a place like this?”

~~

He led me through a maze of hallways until we came to an interrogation room. _Great_. When he opened the door, my mother was there with coffee. With a hesitant look, I sat down across from her at the metal table. The walls were brick and there was a two-way mirror on the wall in front of me. I could only guess who was behind it.

It must have been two hours of silence before someone said something. “Just heal the children, Alexa.” She leant forward and rested her arms on the table. “What’s stopping you? It’s a simple mission, with good pay too. Plus, the sooner you cooperate, the sooner the Cabal will consider letting you go.”

“You don’t understand, _mother._ ” That last word was full of poison, and I wanted nothing more than for it to burn her. “I can _only_ heal non-fatal wounds with the DNA strand I can alter. If I change my DNA strand any more than that, I run a large risk of losing control of my powers.”

Vanna always spoke thoughtfully, slowly, and quietly. I noticed that she also tended to think before she spoke. A trait my brother got more than I did. I spoke more like Maddox: fast and without thought, which got me in more trouble than it did out. “Por qué?”

“I’ve seen it happen. You abuse your powers and they backfire on you. Something the nanobots implanted in us. A way to… Control us shifters.” I scoffed. “Not that it worked that well.” Vanna’s look grew stern, and I sighed. “It starts out as a twitch. Something so small and insignificant you wouldn’t notice it until it got worse. The nerves in the eyelid seizing, a single toe clenching without your consent, a ‘trigger friendly finger’. And then, it got violent. Your nervous systems turn against you and so does your shifting. You’ll find that when you wake up, you have no control over your body.”

_“Alpha, it’s Falcon!” A young recruit ran into my barracks as I was finishing training for the night. She was panicked and scared, and I grew worried. “Something’s happening!” Without hesitation, I ran out of my room without even putting on a shirt over my sports bra. Falcon was a sort of veteran in the program. He had been around almost as long as me, but longer than any other Gamma ink who could die (he did not have a healing factor, and most without one died within a few months, a year or two at the absolute most. He was 14 at the time, having been recruited when he was 6, and I was only 17. My daughter had died the year before, and though I did not know it, my husband would soon die as well._

_I shoved through the group of young inks surrounding his bed and sat down beside him. He looked like a glitch in a video game. Limbs shifting and changing shape, some bending, some snapping in half, some even twisting around until it looked like a spring. His screams echoed around the metal hall as his arm broke and the bone stabbed through the skin. I leaned in close to him and placed my hand on his shoulder. “Falcon, it’s Alpha.”_

_“Bru… Bruja…” He panted and flicked his eyes over to me. I guessed that he couldn’t move his head, so I cupped his jaw and turned it towards me. I smiled sadly and looked at him. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.”_

_“No, don’t be.” I gently wiped away a tear from his cheek and before I could even form the words to ask, he nodded and whispered a plea. As I bit back tears, I stood and walked behind his bed, with my hands on the sides of his neck. “Listen up, Inks. This is what happens if you don’t listen to us and don’t follow your training.” With a deep breath, I swallowed my grief and ended his misery with a crack. It didn’t take long for the body to stop moving, but as soon as it did, the younger Inks began to realize what had happened. Most of the younger ones cried, to be honest. I looked up to the doorway and saw Thiago standing there, tears brimming his eyes too._

Vanna looked at me weirdly. If I had to guess, I’d guess pity. I had grown up with Falcon, just like I did Diablo. He was the one who went flying with me when I realized I could become anything. We’d had more than a few mission together. “I’m sorry that happened to you.” She reached over and placed her hand on mine, and for a half a second, I felt normal. My mother was trying her best to comfort me as I shared a painful memory. That’s what parents did right?

“It’s fine. That was part of the experiment right?” I shook my head and pulled away. “Giving your kids to a facility like that to see what would happen? Well, that’s what happened. I killed people.” Without thought, I placed my hands on my stomach, and rubbed it gently. “I won’t let the same thing happen to this kid. I don’t know what I’ll do with them, but I sure as _hell_ won’t do what you did.” Both of us met eyes and glared at one another for a few seconds before she abruptly stood up and slammed a folder down in front of me.

“We’re done here for the day. Take _Prisoner_ Bruja back to her room.” I picked up the file and stood, but as I did so, Vanna leaned in close and looked in my eyes. “Next time you refuse to cooperate with our kindness, we’ll move to less… _preferable_ methods of agreement.”


End file.
